As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, we wanted to share this piece written by Pilar Portela, Business Wire’s media relations expert. In this article, Pilar looks at the dynamics within the Latino culture that drive the U.S. economy. With $1.2 trillion annual buying power, many companies are expanding their PR and marketing programs to include Hispanic audiences. Are you? If you are looking to launch a PR program for this key demographic, let us know. We have a wide range of resources and information that may be useful to you.

Join Business Wire’s LatinoWire webinar on Wednesday, October 15 at 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT / 10 a.m. PT, featuring prominent Latino journalists and bloggers from around the country. In this webinar, our speakers will take a look at the latest trends and issues being covered. They’ll also look past Hispanic Heritage Month and provide best practices and guidelines for PR in 2014 and 2015.

Pilar Portela, Media Relations Supervisor based in our Florida office, was recently named an at-large board member to the South Florida chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Pilar has been a key player in recent years in developing Business Wire’s LatinoWire circuits, speaking on industry panels and cultivating relationships with Hispanic journalists and media properties.

Pilar Portela, Business Wire Media Relations Representative

According to Pilar, “Through my active participation in NAHJ South Florida I have found that it has brought me closer to the Hispanic media community (both traditional and social media). I have also been part of some really great media events such as our February Hispanic Elections panel discussion featuring Maria Elena Salinas of Univision. Last, I helped to raise books for a local underprivileged Miami school library through a NAHJ South Florida and Business Wire book drive”

Asked what she hopes to contribute via her NAHJ board membership, Pilar said, “Since the National NAHJ Convention in June 2010, I have been actively involved with establishing the NAHJ South Florida Chapter by helping to coordinate meetings and increasing local NAHJ awareness and membership. In the role of At Large Officer I intend to continue to be a big part of the Chapter Committee especially with large projects such as membership and fundraiser drives and also assist the Sponsorship, Event, and Charity Committees.”

Social Media is not just about marketing or technology

Rodriguez stated that, aside from social media being about marketing and technology, more and more it’s about how a product today is made or made better collaboratively. For non-government and government organizations it’s about how to raise money. Increasingly for all it’s about how work gets done. This is something that impacts both big businesses and small businesses.

Pedraja talked about how Google not only caters to big businesses but makes sure it is providing small businesses the online search tools that will allow for collaboration to happen instantaneously and speed up the business practice. For Google collaborating with businesses is in their DNA. You can find a host of Google Apps for Businesses online.

International Trade and Social Media are a Great Mix

Leguisamo stated that in Miami it’s increasingly important to create more cash flow between businesses both locally and internationally. Using social media to increase sales outside of the country can hugely impact the local market.

When the real estate market crashed in South Florida, ONE Sotheby’s was forced to look for new ways to generate interest in the local market. Fernandez says ONE Sotheby’s used social media to tap into the interest of foreign buyers. They madetheir Twitter, Facebook, blog and website available in three languages: Spanish, English and Portuguese. As a result, in 2011, 60% of their residential sales in Miami came from foreign buyers.

Having the right mix – SEO, Social Media and Sharing

When it comes to the communication outreach efforts of Business Wire, Portela says

“We see clients using a number of tools to not only get their messages across and extend the life of their press releases but to have a web presence and build relationships with media in both traditional and social media newsrooms as well. Having the right mix is not an `or’ proposition but an `and’ proposition to conduct business today. You have to leverage mobile, social media and traditional communication strategies.”

In retrospect, each panelist had a different take on how social media has helped their industry but all agreed that collaboration and communication is the key to building a new vision to power the economy.

This year’s title was “NAHJ En Denver: El Grito Across the Rockies.” For those of you that are unaware, the Spanish-language word “grito” means “shout” in English.

According to the association, it’s an apt title because there are distinct messages – gritos – it wanted to reverberate in all directions from the conference in Denver. The first message NAHJ wanted to make clear was that although 2008 and 2009 exacted a toll on groups such as NAHJ, their organization is still strong. Secondly, NAHJ remains committed to providing members with the training they need to thrive in spite of these tough economic times. NAHJ has long considered itself the voice for Latino journalists and for the kind of fair, accurate, balanced, nuanced and informed coverage that the industry needs. At this moment, as an organization, NAHJ believes this role continues to be relevant and they will not falter in their stance as that voice citing events in Arizona that reaffirm this point.

The convention programming included media training sessions on topics such as Mining Your Beat, Multimedia Photojournalism and Web Publishing. There were also workshops on Convention Do’s and Don’ts, Twitter 101 and Marketing Yourself in a Multimedia World, just to name a few. As the voices behind Business Wire’s Twitter account @BWLatinoWire, Eric and Pilar tweeted some of their convention experiences.

One of the most anticipated events of the convention was The Newsmaker Luncheon on Friday afternoon. This panel of distinguished immigration experts grappled with how public opinion shapes the immigration debate. Panelists approached the issue of immigrationfrom their respective fields of study, giving each one a slightly different viewpoint. Nelson Castillo, an immigration attorney, said the political will to accomplish comprehensive immigration reform within one year is not there. Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, likened the immigration debate to the title of a book about abortion, a “Clash of Absolutes.” Camarota said talking about immigration is difficult because it is an issue that strikes at people’s core beliefs. Paul Voakes, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder, called immigration a third-rail issue. Voakes, who studies how media cover immigration, said part of the problem, is that people don’t like talking about immigration. He said that in the mainstream media, immigration receives relatively little coverage until close to election time. However, in talk-show media, hosts blend news with opinion, distorting the issue, Voakes said.

Unfortunately, NAHJ’s message was overshadowed by rumors of the organization’s financial woes and dwindling membership. The 1,300 member organization dependent on monies made from the convention has seen a rapid decline in registrations for the annual event. In 2006, 1800 people came together in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. This year the number teetered just over 700. Moving forward NAHJ officials said the organization’s future includes a commitment to training and continuing annual conventions but not depending on them as “cash cows.”

On June 22nd, Business Wire Florida media luncheon attendees were able to partake in a lively discussion with video experts and marketing, PR and corporate communications professionals on the benefits of adding video to press releases to gain visibility and exposure.

L-R: Rick Christie, Doug Perry, Pilar Portela, Rachel Toole

Hosted by JM Family Enterprises Inc., and moderated by Business Wire Media Relations Supervisor Pilar Portela, the panelists were:

With the topic more timely than ever — video press releases having a 300% message retention rate and 500% more views than text-only releases — our panelists discussed video trends, tips on how to get started using video and how to make the best use of your FLIP camera.

Trends show an upswing in the use of video not only for traditional press releases, but also to promote:

Upcoming events

Testimonials

New Product Launches

Company Profiles

Rick Christie of The Palm Beach Post noted the “3 must-haves” for a successful video campaign. The clip must be:

Interesting

Relevant

Important

He also advises to go to a media point’s Facebook/YouTube page or follow them on Twitter to get an idea of the type of video they prefer and are most likely to use.

When asked for tips on creating video, all the panelists agreed:

Target an audience/know your demographics.

The video must have a message/tell a story.

Keep it brief (2 minutes is optimal).

Keep it real.

Don’t make it purely product based advertising.

MEDIAmobz Sales & Marketing Manager Rachel Toole added further to the discussion by noting that using video is:

Doug Perry of WPBF-TV shared how their newsroom is a “Next Generation” newsroom. As part of a Hearst Television Inc. initiative, news reporters were outfitted with Blackberrys that can shoot video, and laptops that can live stream. Doug advised that when including video for media usage:

Content is critical.

Give users a reason to click on the URL. Don’t simply state “click here.”

During the media luncheon, an Ultra FLIP Video camera was raffled off. One lucky audience member, Mark Sell of the Miami agency Wragg & Casas, won the camera. Mark is already using his FLIP for client interviews. In regard to tips for using the popular FLIP, our experts recommend:

When filming, be as close to the subject as possible.

Do not use high contrast.

Remember to also post on your company’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts.